Bucket cleaner



- -11 C1 FRENCH.

BUCKET CLEANER; APPLICATION FILED uovno. 1919.

Patentefl Nov; 7,; 1922.

Patented Nov. 7, 1922. 4

UNITED; STATES PATENTOFFICEM Jar/ ns c. FRENCH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ,iassrenon, BY MESNE .assrsuirnnlrs, no r. oaosrrn MACHINERY COMPANY, a conrorm'rron or rumors.

BUCKET CLEA ER."

Application filed November 10, 1919. seriaiuo. 336,942.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known thatI, JAMES CjFnnNoH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, Illinoishave in vented a. certain new and useful Improvement in Bucket Cleaners, of which the following is a specification. r This invention relates to excavating apparatus, and more particularly to the means for automatically cleaning out the buckets thereof, suchas those on anordinary trenching machine, so that each bucket will properly discharge its load. i Generally stated, the object of the inventionis to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby each bucket has an individual cleaner by which the load is discharged at the proper time. i

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general efiiciency and the. desirability of an automatic bucket cleaner of this particular character. To these and other useful ends'the' invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings,in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of an endless series of excavating buckets, such as those employed on an ordinary trenching machine, showing said buckets and other portions of the apparatus in vertical section.

Fig. 2. is. a in Fig. 1.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises an endless link belt 1, of any suitable character, supported on the rotary member 2 which has a transverse shaft 3, it being obvious that power can be communicated to the endless series of buckets through the medium of this shaft. The member 2 is provided with blades or partitions 4, so that pockets are formed between them to receive the discharge from the buckets 5, on the endless belt. Ea-ch bucket, it will be seen, is suitably secured to the pivots 6 and 7 at opposite ends of a. single link in the belt, so that each bucket is rigid with one of said links. It will be understood that these buck'bts are of any suitable width, being wide enough to out atrench of the desired width, and the outside or front wall 8 of each bucket is curved and formed on the line of a circle struck from the pivot 7 as plan of the apparatus shown an axis. Each bucket has a back wallf) which serves as the cleaner, and which is supported on'the pivot 7, the other edge portion of the cleaner being normally engaged by the stop or shoulder 10 adjacent the pivot 6, so that the loadis held inthe bucket. The cleaner 9 has a rigid'ar m 11' which is pivotally connected by astraight link 12 with the crooked link l3,-the latter having a curved portion 14: which extends around the pivot '7 when the links are in alinement. However, when the links travel around the member 2, in the manner shown, the relative swlnging movement between the two adjacent links to which the crooked link 13 is pivoted at 15 and 16, willcause the cleaner 9 to be swung away from the stop 10 and toward the mouth of the bucket, as

shown in Fig. 1, thus scraping the load outof the bucket; and, at about this. time theload is thrown into one ofthe pockets of the rotary member 2, it being borne in mind that the buckets. are traveling rapidlyand that the discharge of i the contents of the buckets occurs while the latter are starting to travel around the supporting memberQ, which latter is rotating at the desired speed to operate the endless chain of excavating buckets. As soon as the links straighten out and assume their relative'positions in alinement with each other, as shown at the left'in F 1, the cleaner9 of each bucket-again assumes itsnorma-l pos1t1onagainst the stop 10 of its allotted bucket. At such time, as

previously explained, the curved portion 14' of the link 13 extends around the pivot 7 and thus holds the cleaner in position to form the back wall of the bucket.

From the foregoing, therefore. it will be seen that each bucket is provided with an individual cleaner by which the contents of the bucket are automatically discharged at the proper time. It will also be seen that the cleaner thus provided for each bucket is automatically controlled by the relative movement of the links, and by the movements which the links have while traveling around the hexagonal or other shaped memher 2 which serves as a sort of sprocket to support and operate the endless link belt.

It will be understood, of course, that the materials discharged from the buckets into the poo rets otthe rotary member 2 are then discharged from the latter onto a suitable conveyor (not shown) or into or onto anything else that may be found suitable for the purpose,

Thus the controlling means for causing the cleaner to eject the load from the bucket are connected to the link belt, so that the latter controls the discharge.

' Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. In bucket elevators or conveyers, the combination of a. link belt, abucket mounted on said belt, a pivoted cleaner for said bucket, serving as a back wall therefor while the bucket is being filled and while the load is being carried to the desired point of discharge, means to support-the link belt, and mechanism controlled by the belt and pivot.- ally connected at spaced points: to .a plurality of links thereof to operate said cleanerto discharge the load when the desired point of discharge is reached.

Q. In bucket elevators or conveyers, the combination of a link belt, a bucket mounted on said belt, a pivoted cleaner for said bucket, serving as a back Wall therefor while the bucket is being filled and while the load is being carriedto the desired point of dis-' charge, means to support the link belt, and mechanism controlled by the belt to operate said cleaner to discharge the load when the desiredpoint of discharge is reached, said cleaner comprising, a platepivoted at the mouth of: the bucket, said mechanism comprising an arm rigid'with said cleaner, an element pivoted on the link which carries the bucket and also on the link immediately ahead thereof, and a link connecting saidv arm with said element; I

3. 1n bucket elevators or conveyers, the combination of a link belt, a bucket mounted on said belt, a pivoted cleaner for said bucket,-serving as aback wa-ll'therefor while the bucket is being'filled and While the load is being carried .to the desired point of discharge, mea-ns;to support the link belt, and

mechanism controlled by the belt to operate said cleaner to discharge the load when the desired point of discharge is reached, said cleaner comp-rising apivoted plate, said bucket beingcurved about the axisotthe pivot of the plate, and said mechanism comprising links connecting said cleaner with the-links of the belt.

l. In bucket elevators or conveyers, the

' combination of a link belt, a bucket mounted into the bucket, so that the cleaner is held in position to serve as the back Wall while the bucket is filling.

5. The improved automatic bucket cleaner,

substantially as shown and described, comprising links pivotally connected together and to said cleanerand combined with means connected a medial points on successive links whereby the pivotal action between the links causes the cleaner to eject the load.

6; In a conveyer, the combination of'an endless link belt, a bucket on said belt, a cleaner for said bucket, and means pivotally connectedto a plurality of links of said belt to operate said cleaner.

7. A structure as specified'inclaim '6, in combination with rotary member to support said belt and receive the load from the bucket. I

8'. A. structure as specified in claim 6,.in combination with a rotary membernfor supporting and flexing said belt to operate said cleaner. U

Signed.

JAMES o. FRENCH. 

